


Water Cooler Gossip

by nerdyydragon



Series: Kingsman Tumblr Ficlets [38]
Category: Kingsman (2014), Kingsman (2015), Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: First Kisses, Getting Together, M/M, Merlin is there in the end but not for long, POV Outsider, there's also two ocs for plot purposes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-18
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-08-31 17:01:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8586622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdyydragon/pseuds/nerdyydragon
Summary: It wasn't that he found anything ... wrong ... with it, he just thought it odd, how close their King and his chosen Knight were.





	

**Author's Note:**

> OMG I actually DO own something this time - it's the little shit who's telling you all this. Everything else, obviously, I don't hold any rights to.

It had to be a mistake.

He was clearly seeing things that weren’t there, between Galahad and Arthur. He was clearly imagining the soft looks and and softer smiles, the brushes of hands. The scrunched brow and sad eyes aimed at the king whenever Galahad sat too long without doing anything, the pain in his expression clouded by what seemed to be relief that the other man was there at all - or perhaps the relief was clouded by pain at how easily he could be taken. How worried Arthur looked when he supervised their trials, and the agent was just a few minutes late, immediately jumping to the worst case scenario. But what that was, nobody could tell. How closely they stood when seen together had to simply be friendship, nothing more.

“Maybe he just was concerned that Galahad got hurt on a mission - they do local overnights sometimes.” A fellow recruit, Mindy, had suggested. She was smart, and though it pained him, he wanted to believe she was right. “Honestly, Carver, you’re seeing things that aren’t there.” The support of his supposed madness by his peers, while normally something to be contested, was reassuring. Carver was never one to engage in flights of fancy, especially speculation beyond workplace relations. He had always been told that assuming things about other people - though this generally applied to people in his family’s social circle - was nothing short of extremely rude.

And believing that they were nothing more than fellow agents, Galahad loyal to the crown, was all well and good. But eavesdropping is what spies do best, and Kingsman was crawling with them. Water cooler gossip, and all that.

“I heard that Galahad killed the previous Arthur, and when offered a chance to survive Valentine’s plans in a new world, he pledged his allegiance to the ghost of the reigning king.” Could be heard floating through the canteen. At least one voice would agree each time, as though this was fact; perhaps it was. “And that he would walk away now if Arthur left.”

“I heard that they live together because they’re both too afraid of what will happen in the middle of the night to be without the other,” was usually followed with some form of: “That’s called PTSD, you live through what they did, you have it. Arthur has a scar on his head from where he got  _ shot at point blank range _ . Galahad killed a  _ whole mountain full of people in one day after watching the footage of his mentor’s death _ . Can you blame them?” They had watched the glasses feed during training, of Galahad’s first mission. They knew how dangerous he was. Merlin had showed it to them (without the man’s knowledge) to tell them  _ you see? Just because you believe you’re better than someone else, doesn’t mean you are. His friendly demeanor and South London accent mask one of the most dangerous men you will ever meet. _

Carver wasn’t sure what was true and what was carefully crafted works of fiction, aside from that singular detail pertaining to Galahad, and he learned very quickly in life not to form an opinion of gossip without getting the full story. He almost believed that the rumours were simply that, until he caught the two of them speaking outside Arthur’s office.

“As much as I know how much this means to you to do this, I want you to be careful. Can you do that?” Arthur said softly. Carver was barely able to hear them from his position hidden just around the corner, and he went down on his knee to be able to lean closer without being detected.

“Dean deserves it. They  _ all _ deserve it. It’s something that I shoulda done a long time back.” Both men sighed heavily. “I have to; if not for me, then for my mum. But since you asked so nicely, if I come back with more than a scratch on this mug, you can mother hen me all you like.”

“I know that that vile man deserves to be put down like the dog he is, but I still feel like you’re going about this the wrong way. We have more than enough information to get him and his thugs locked away for the rest of their lives.” Ducking his head slightly around the corner so he could see, Carver watched out of the corner of his eye as Galahad put both his hands tenderly on the king’s face, and traced one softly up his jawline and around his scar before following the line into his hair. Arthur closed his eyes and swayed into the touch, clearly not wanting to have what seemed like a repeat argument.

“I know how much you want to hurt him.” Arthur’s large hand took Galahad’s wrist and he turned his face to press a kiss to it.

“I don’t ever fancy being out of control of my faculties like I was then, but this would be one time in which I would take  _ great pleasure _ in rendering someone limb from limb  _ with my bare hands _ .” Galahad had gone rigid at the words, and must have muttered something under his breath, as Arthur pulled the man to him and kissed him hard and brutal as though his life depended on it.

Sensing he was intruding further on what should have been a private moment, Carver twisted softly on his heel and stood to make his leave. Of course, his luck, he made it all of two paces before he ran straight into Merlin, who was giving him a glare that had brought greater men to their knees.

“An’ just what do ya think you’re doing, boy?” He asked, and raised an eyebrow as the recruit before him gulped.

“I was just - and then they - and I had -” he struggled for an excuse, and realizing he didn’t have one that could be deemed satisfactory, stopped to collect his thoughts.  _ “Arthur kissed Galahad.” _ The Scotsman stared blankly at him for a moment, then sighed heavily, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“’S'about damn time.”


End file.
